Allow me to pose a scenario for you to pensively ponder. I shoot a basketball 9 times. The first 6 of my 9 shots are swishes. The next 2 aren’t as pretty but still go in the basket. My last shot I miss. Overall, I succeeded in making 8 of the 9 shots which means I have an 89% success rate. Now let me ask you this; would you bet on me to make a 10th shot?

This in a nutshell is Carl Crawford’s career. A 4-time All-Star, he has also consistently been amongst the top producing outfielders in all of baseball for the last decade. Barring his rookie season, His first 5 Major League campaigns were incredible – with him routinely posting over a .300 average and 50 steals – while still belting 10-15 HRs. That combination of speed and power is a rare mix that Crawford displayed with ease. He fared very well for his RBI totals when you take into account he has mostly been a Lead-off and #2 batter for his time in the Majors. He faltered slightly in his 6th season with a .273 Average, 8 HRs and only 25 SB, yet still scored 69 Runs in just 109 Games Played during the 2008 season. Not terrible numbers by any means but not Carl Crawford like production. The following 2 seasons, he regained form and astounded many by posting some of his best numbers yet – even placing 7th in the MVP voting of the 2010 season.

Then came the dark days. Then came Boston.

Carl Crawford – The ALL-Star!

Carl Crawford is the Active MLB Leader with 114 Career Triples (Leads Jose Reyes by 3 Triples). With Johnny Damon not having a current team for 2013, Only Jimmy Rollins and he have at least 100 HRs, 100 3B and 100 2B.

Maybe it was adjusting to a new city or a new ballpark. Maybe he wasn’t mentally prepared for the vigorous rigors and pressure of the Boston fans and media. Maybe he finally became self-conscience of being called “Craw-Daddy.” Whatever the case was, Carl Crawford had the worst season in his career. I won’t go into detail about the numbers or the mistakes, just that it was hard to watch and was capped off by him committing a huge error in a crucial end-of-the-season game that knocked The Red Sox out of the playoffs. It was bad news in bean town.

In the offseason, Crawford underwent surgery and didn’t come back until midway through the 2012 season. Now here’s where things get interesting. Expectations were at an all-time low and Crawford was not a very well liked player in Boston. A month after Crawford came back, he had to have season ending Tommy John surgery. Crawford stock hit rock bottom and Boston fans nearly drove him out with torches and pitch-forks. You know what the interesting part was though? That single month that he returned, he began to be Carl Crawford again. He was hitting.

He only played in 31 games and logged 117 At-Bats – but we can do some pretty surprising things with those numbers. His season At-Bat Average over his career is 652. Taking his 2012 numbers and extrapolating them to a 652 At-Bat season, we get a vastly different picture of Carl Crawford.

If he had played the entire 2012 season based on his 31 Game Projections, he would have batted to a .282 Average with 17 HRs and 28 SB. He was also on to rack in 106 RBI. Now admittedly the Stolen Bases are a little low and the RBI total is a little high, but those numbers align almost perfectly with what is expected out of Carl Crawford.

Now Crawford is a Dodger. He’s coming off of two major surgeries, is in a new ballpark, in a new league and his age has become a factor. That might be cause for concern to some people but Dodger fans have taken a cautiously optimistic approach with him while the rest of the Baseball world things he’s a complete bust. I couldn’t be happier.

So let me ask you again. Would you bet on Carl Crawford to have a successful 2013 season for the Los Angeles Dodgers? I would. I’d put every dollar in my bank account on Carl Crawford to be the All-Star caliber player that he has been throughout his career. Why?

Because there’s an 89% chance that I’m going to win.

Carl Crawford is on a throwing program now after recovering from Tommy John Surgery – and maybe ready for opening day on Apr.1st at Dodger Stadium, CC enters the 3rd year of a 7 YR/142 Million Dollar Contract. He should find himself back in a Leadoff role.

A big thank-you goes out to our ‘Dodgers Correspondent’ Aaron Roberts for preparing today’s featured article. Berts” as his friends call him, has been a True Blue believer since before he can remember. It hasn’t always been easy, but he’s stuck with the Dodgers through thick and thin and things are finally starting to look up! Cut him open and you’ll see that he bleeds blue. Growing up in the outskirts of Los Angeles, he now resides in Orange County. He attends as many Dodger Home games as he can and scoffs every time his girlfriend drags him to an Angel game (but secretly he enjoys it because any Baseball is better than no Baseball!) A passionate student of the game, he cherishes the legacies and traditions that are intrinsic to Baseball. his life goal is to visit all 30 ballparks and purchase a hat from each one. So far he’s checked 9 off his list with plans to conquer 6 more this upcoming season. Every Spring, he travels to the Arizona desert to catch a glimpse of the upcoming season and the stars that light up the diamond covered in dirt. You can find his rants and musings at http://www.Bertsball.blogspot.com/ and come be his twitter friend. Follow @bertsball

Please e-mail me at: mlbreports@gmail.com with any questions and feedback. You can follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook. To subscribe to our website and have the Daily Reports sent directly to your inbox, click here and follow the link at the top of our homepage.

Chuck Booth’s 218 MLB Game 30 Parks Road Trip In 2015

2015 Full Year Road Trip Stats

Trip Stats: Miles Driven (0) Miles Air (0) Total Miles (0) In Altuves () $ Spent So Far ($12202) Hot Dogs Eaten (0) Energy Drinks Consumed (0) Subs Eaten (0) Chilli's (0) # Of Days On the Road (0) Games Seen (0) Games Left (218) Days remaining (183).

Sully posts a 20 Minute Podcast daily that is the most entertaining time you will spend online! He will do a brand new show 365 days a year, unless it is a leap year, then he will do another 1! Latest Show Right Underneath In The Next Widget Down - Thursday Oct.30, 2014) - 738th Consecutive Day With An Episode!

Madbum dominated. Affeldt was terrific. Gordon nearly tied it + Chevy Guy may have been staged

Chuck Booth’s 30 MLB Parks Trip World Record Page

In 2012, Chuck Booth attended a complete game in all 30 MLB Parks in just 23 calendar days, click the image of he and Larry Lucchino to read all about it.

The MLB BallPark Pass-Port Is A Must Purchase For Those Planning To See All 30

The Ballpark Passport is quickly becoming the favorite item among Ballpark Chasers, to chronicle their life goal to see all 30 Major League Parks. You are able to receive the stamps kit for a small additional price. At around $75 all combined, it will contain one of the biggest memento's ever for a Ballpark Chaser's best bucket list wish ever#Greatgiftidea

The Sully Baseball ‘In Memoriam” Video To MLB Players Who Have Recently Passed

The Last No – Hitter For Each MLB Franchise

The Last No - Hitter For Each Franchise - Updated every time there is a new no - hitter - click picture

The Royals have released infielder Rafael Furcal, Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star reports on Twitter. Furcal was only recently brought into camp on a minor league deal and had been working through a hamstring injury. The 37-year-old saw only minimal action last year with Miami and has generally been unable to stay healthy since going down with a UCL […]

The Brewers have re-signed righty Chris Perez to a minor league deal, the club announced. Milwaukee had released Perez on Sunday. Perez, a former closer with the Indians, seemingly took some time to look around for a big league opportunity before deciding to return. At least one team, the Twins, was approached but declined the chance to add him, Darren Wolfs […]

The Dodgers have released righty Dustin McGowan, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Additionally, the Dodgers will pay Mike Adams a $100K roster bonus by starting him off in Triple-A, as MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick reports on Twitter. McGowan had been in camp on a big league deal that guaranteed him a league minimum salary and came with a $1MM Openin […]

The Mariners have made a host of moves involving veteran non-roster invitees, per a team announcement. Seattle has released outfielders Endy Chavez and Franklin Gutierrez along with lefty Joe Saunders, with the latter two players re-signing on new minor league deals. Chavez, 37, exercised an opt-out clause in his deal to reach the open market. He has spent t […]

The Dodgers have acquired infielder Elliot Johnson from the Rangers, Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets. Texas will receive cash considerations in the deal. Johnson, 31, provides a shortstop-capable utility option to plug into the Los Angeles depth chart, though it is hard to imagine he will crack the active roster to start the season wi […]